Hansel received his second chance at life in 2015 when he and 20 other dogs were rescued from a horrible situation in Canada. Now he’s getting a chance to prove his breed.
On January 19, Hansel will become the first pit bull arson detection K9 officer in New Jersey. He will work alongside Millville firefighter Tyler Van Leer, who he has spent the past 15 weeks training with.
“When I put on his harness and I tell him, ‘Do you want to go to work?’ he literally does laps in his crate,” Van Leer told News 12 New Jersey.
In 2015, when Hansel was only seven weeks old, he was rescued from a dogfighting ring in Canada. Throw Away Dogs Project, an organization that takes in rescued dogs and trains them for service jobs, took in Hansel and saw his potential right away.
“He exhibited all the qualities that a regular working dog, police K9 dog has,” Throw Away Dogs founder Carol Skaziak said.
When Hansel starts his new job he will work closely with Van Leer to determine if a fire has been intentionally set. Van Leer will clear an area for Hansel to search and if the pit bull sits down that means there’s evidence the fire was a result of arson.
Not only will this new job give Hansel a second chance, but it will help show others that pit bulls are not the violent and aggressive dogs that they are so often thought to be.
Good luck on your first day of work, Hansel! I look forward to hearing more about you and how you’re changing the public’s perception of your breed.
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